Realizing that Ryan and I have been flying under the radar as of late, we thought it was high time we let you know how our recording is going, what the songs are sounding like, and what we think of it. So without further ado: - We began recording in late summer, and we worked on and off up through Christmas. We're roughly 70% of the way finished. (Slow and steady wins the race, right Mr. Tortoise?) - We have completed bass and drums and main guitars for 11 of the 12 songs we're planning to include. - We've sung what are called "scratch" vocals for all of them, in order to find out which harmonies work, where different melodies are needed, etc. - We're currently back home in Tucson rehearsing our acoustic butts off, making sure that we know exactly what we want to sing when we get back to LA to begin...

It's been stormy and rainy and windy and lightningish outside for the past three Tucson days. So beautiful. Most places I've been to or lived in like the rain less than Tucson does. But I'm going to wager half of my M&Ms and guess that it's because Tucson has well over 300 sunny days a year. So, here, a cloudy day is a scarce resource. And what is scarce is usually very valuable. Tomorrow we return to Los Angeles. Monday we set up. Tuesday, we begin, finally begin, cutting a record. I don't say 'making a record,' because Ryan and I have been 'making this record' for a long time. Insomuch as weve been writing these songs and testing them out live, and then going into Woolly Mammoth Studios in Boston to record 30 demos, and then going to LA to play them for our producer (Grammy winner Ross Hogarth (can...

would agree with lyricist Monica Rodriguez that one of the only differences between fame and obscurity is perspective. What makes an autograph worth more when a hundred other people want it, as opposed to when only your aunt and uncle want it?

I’m currently airborne on a flight to New Mexico: “The Land of Enchantment”. Cameron and I drove through these parts earlier in the tour, and we had a lot of laughs at the attitude of the state. All of the freeway warning signs sounded like they were written by the creator of the X-Files…our favorite was: “Dust Storms May Exist”!!! Tonight, we play our third show with Jason Mraz. While our dreams of becoming lifelong friends with Mraz haven’t come true yet, it is fun to get a “sup Ryanhood” when we pass each other backstage. And I heard he likes us (apparently our roadies aren’t as big of fraidy-cats as we are, and had a couple of conversations with Jason, including one where roadie Sergio failed to warn Mraz of the effects of a preshow jalapeño popper in Tucson). During a radio interview, Jason spoke about being friends and neighbors...

That late afternoon sun gets you. Just looking out the window onto the tarmac at Hartfield Jackson Airport in Atlanta, beating the urge to nap. I think it’s this: I think when it’s late afternoon, the morning’s doings are done, lunch has been processed, and the sun is hanging low…right in your eyes. When there’s a showdown between my eyes and the lazy afternoon sun, it’s usually over in no time at all. The eyelids close, Damien Rice’s “The Blower’s Daughter” comes on over the headphones in my mind, and it’s sleepytime. On our way to LA for a music merchant’s conference called, NAMM. We’ll see if we can get endorsed by D’Addario strings or somesuch. So that, in return for playing their strings in front of tons of people all over America, they’ll give us free strings for a lifetime. (I was going to write “hooray” but I’m too...